insert really cool title that I can't think of
by Vaughn's Jenn
Summary: *"complete" meaning... sequel...* S/V Romance, Action, Adventure, Angst... you know the drill cuz you know me~ :A Jennfic:
1. Handcuffs, Mister

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_JJ Challenge_

**1. **

**Handcuffs, Mister**

Lips came crashing down on hers as soon as the door closed behind them and she could barely contain her laughter, the sounds shaking in her own mouth and in his. Unable to fight another fit of giggles, she broke away, laughing, head tilted up towards the ceiling in unabashed mirth.

"Syd? What's so funny? We've just come out of the single most boring debrief in history- not to mention the_ longest- and I feel drained. So why are you still laughing?"_

Grinning, she placed her hands on either side of his head and kissed his lips with a loud smack. "Am I not _allowed_ to be happy?"

"Of course you are… but to be so ebullient that you feel the need to disrupt me when I'm kissing you causes me worry. And… now I'm nervous that it's something I did." 

Hearing his words cracked her up again. "Yes Michael Vaughn. You are my God. My entire universe revolves around _you_  and there is no possible way that I could be laughing about _anything_ else," she said with a mocking tone of voice and an arched eyebrow. Then she sobered, "I was happy on the way home."

He smiled, letting his thumb slide across her cheek. "Yeah. I noticed you smiling… it felt really great to see you smile."

She looked up at him, grinning her you're-so-sweet-Vaughn smile. "The thing is… well I was happy because I was in the passenger's seat for once."

This time it was his turn to look confused. "Wait… explain this… are you having a fight with the steering wheel or something? Or have you just realized yourself what an _incredibly_ scary driver you are when you're chasing someone regardless of who you have in your passenger seat?"

She smirked. "You're so cocky, Vaughn. You're lucky that I love you or you'd probably be getting kicked out right about now. Anyway, what I was going to say was that I was happy because it meant that I wasn't driving- not for the reason you said though-. For the first time in a _long_ time, someone else – this would be you- was taking care of me and allowing me to give them my trust." She looked up into his now serious eyes. "It's been a while since I let anyone into my life, Vaughn. I mean _really into my life. And now that's you're the proverbial and literal driver… it makes me feel happy… and surprisingly safe knowing that you're there."_

There was a short moment of thought and reflection on Vaughn's part before he softly bent down to kiss her again, this time soft and sweet, a kiss of gratefulness. "I'll always be there, Syd," he murmured into her lips. 

When they separated however, the same glint appeared in his eyes. "So you_ were laughing about me. Because I am the center of your universe."_

Sydney shook her head. "No, actually I was **smiling because of you… I was ****laughing because I now understand why my father had such a weird look on his face." She leaned in closer to whisper into his ear, "Your fly's open, sweetie. Nice to know you love me though."**

Vaughn flushed a deep red and looked down, shaking his head. "God… I'll never be able to look your father in the eye again." He reached down to pull up his zipper but she stopped him with a touch of her hand.

"How about… how about we just leave that undone. It'll save us time later. I won't laugh anymore, I promise," she said with a mischievous grin.

He laughed. "Why Agent Bristow, what on _earth_ can you be imply-"

"-Shut up and kiss me."

He obliged, a smile on his lips. As he moved to kiss the side of her neck, she started to shake with laughter once more. "God… your fly already undone… things are changing Mister. This is just kinky. What's next? Handcuffs?"

His muted laughter sent a rush of hot air spreading across her skin and she stopped speaking then and let him concentrate. 

**tbc******

**more****?**

  
  
  
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	2. Confide in Me

**insert really cool title that I can't think of**

**2. **

**Confide in Me**

When she opened her eyes in the morning, she found that she was still smiling. Taking in a deep breath, she felt his arms wrap tighter around her and knew instinctively that this was the reason for her happiness. The fact that this was the morning, that she was waking up and he was _still here_, the fact that he had ever been here at all... her life was finally beginning to make sense. 

Gently removing herself from his grasp, she slipped out of the bed, finding his rumpled shirt on the floor and drawing it on, liking the way the loose material enfolded her and gave her the feeling that he was still hugging her to him as she made her way into the kitchen. 

She tied her hair into a messy bun, smelling the scent of Vaughn that the shirt emitted at her movement, and took out the frying pan and eggs. Today, she was feeling domestic. 

It was when the coffee was being poured that she felt warm arms take hold of her waist, encircling it tightly and bringing her in contact with a body behind her. And she knew then that there was no possible way that wearing his shirt could ever compare to his. His head leaned on her shoulder, kissing the side of her neck quickly before murmuring "Good morning."

She turned and kissed him back, her 12-hour-old smile still intact. "Good morning," she said, laughing." Guess how long I've been smiling."

"Nearly twelve hours."

Her eyebrows lifted in surprise. "How did you know?"

"You were smiling when you fell asleep. And you looked so peaceful that I thought I'd get more rest just watching you sleeping that if I actually went to sleep myself. It worked for a couple of hours anyway and I'm just guessing that you never stopped."

If possible, her grin got wider and he smiled back at her, pressing his upturned lips against hers until he heard an intrusive beeping coming from the bedroom. 

Groaning loudly, he pulled away, running his hands through his disheveled hair and giving her a look that explained everything before rushing off to the bedroom. 

When he still hadn't come back five minutes later and there was dead silence in the bedroom, she put a lid over the frying pan, walked back to the bedroom and leaned against the doorway.

The room was still dark, shaded from the sun, and she could make out the outline of his body as he sat on the bed, as still as Death. Her brow furrowed as she watched his immobility for a few moments, not sure if he was even breathing. "Vaughn?"

There was no response.

Softly biting her lip and tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, she moved away from the door frame, the hem of his shirt skimming across her thighs as she moved closer to him. She got onto the bed beside him, alarmed that there was still no movement or response from him. Slowly, she placed her hands on his shoulders, frightened suddenly at how tense they were. "Vaughn?"

He didn't answer.

Nonsensical terror alighting her eyes, tears sprang into them for a reason she couldn't explain or begin to define. In a voice so soft that it was almost indistinguishable from the surrounding air, she called his name again. "Michael?" Despite the lack of response that followed, she could feel the slight jump in his muscles as he heard his first name erupt from her lips. She didn't know how to comfort him when she had no idea what was wrong, didn't know how to soothe when there was seemingly no reason to. She bent her head and softly laid a kiss on his shoulder, and then another, begging an answer from him with her lips.

His hand reached for hers as he finally turned, tears glinting in his own eyes. 

"Michael, what's wrong?" She felt fear growing and spreading throughout her body. "Baby_, please_ tell me what's wrong."

The voice that answered was cracked and hoarse with pain. "It's gone."

"_What's gone?"_

His eyes met hers, his hand still clutching her own. "Syd, I- I have to go... I'll... talk to you later."

"Vaughn! What's going on? Why can't you tell me what's happening?"

"Sydney, **_please_**! I _wil_l tell you- I have to tell you... but I need some time. Okay? Just... just give me an hour. Okay?"

Absent-mindedly he pulled on his pants, turned his head looking for his shirt until she unbuttoned it and handed it to him, shivering from the sudden exposure to the cold air. 

Taking it, he looked at her, infinite sadness in his eyes, telling her how much he wanted to tell her and his frustration at not being able to confide in her. Not yet anyway.

Softly, he traced her cheek with a finger without a word, the sadness radiating from him saying it all. 

"I'll see you later, alligator."

It was only after the door closed that she found her voice, only to find that there was no one to listen.

_After a while, crocodile._

**tbc******

**more****?**


	3. It's Gone

**3.**

**It's Gone**

She was sitting by the phone- had been sitting by the phone ever since he had left- when it rang. She picked it up almost as if it were an animal, lifting it ever so gently to her ear. "H-Hello?"

"Syd?"

"Vaughn... where are you?"

There was a pause, as if the person on the other line was still debating whether or not to speak. 

She felt the hot hears make their way up to her eyes again, only this time she understood why. Throughout the past few years, he had been her guardian angel, the shoulder she cried on, the arms that hugged her to him, the ears that listened, the lips that she now could kiss... and it killed her that she couldn't be the same for him. "Michael? Talk to me." In her mind, she added a plaintive please at the end of the order, making it into one of humble request. 

"Pier."

The phone went dead. Her mouth opened a little, shocked by the abruptness of the call as well as the end of it. She lowered her phone back to the table and walked to the bathroom to change.

Twenty minutes later, she stepped out of the car and saw him standing sixty feet away, leaning on with both hands on the railing with his back to her. Already she could tell he was burning a hole into the ocean.

She cleared her throat and fixed her t-shirt, vowing to stay calm. If Vaughn wanted to stay profesional, if he wanted to pretend that their relationship wasn't there, she could play that game. She knew how to compartmentalize. It didn't matter that she had released all her emotions to this man, compartmentalizing was compartmentalizing. 

She walked to his side. "What is it?" Her voice was perhaps a little more clipped than she meant it to be and she saw his slight flinch from the corner of his eye. He cleared his own throat and began. 

"You have to get to the CIA safehouse in Sun Valley."

Despite her efforts to stay apathetic, her head jerked a little. "Vaughn, tell me what's happening. I will go _wherever you tell me to because I __trust you but you _need _to let me in... you need to tell me what you know so that we can have even footing." At her last words, she turned her head to look him in the eye, making sure that he couldn't escape these words, couldn't pretend to misunderstand the importance of them. "Vaughn... we broke all protocol to be together. And it was my understanding that we did this because-" She bit her lip, "-because we felt something so strong between us that we were _willing_ to risk everything just to be able to go to sleep in each other's arms... and perhaps seeing each other again in the morning."_

He turned his face towards the sea, maintaining the facade that they didn't know each other. "Syd, I need you to the safe house. I will tell you everything you need to know but you have to trust me here. It's for your own safety." Giving up on the facade, he turned and looked at her, the green of his eyes nearly magnetizing her. "Of course we did it so be with each other. I would never trivialize our relationship, Syd. But the call I got this morning... it concerned you and I just had to, I suppose make a mental counter mission, and I didn't want to tell you anything until I understood it myself."

"And do you?"

"No."

"So why are you talking to me?"

"Because I promised to tell you in an hour. And you're the one person that I can't stand breaking my promise to."

She nodded. "Okay, then give me something to chew on. Tell me what's gone."

Vaughn looked down at his hand for an instant and cleared his throat again in nervousness and agitation. "SD-6."

Her facial expression broke them, this was an answer that she hadn't expected. "Vaughn... what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how the bank is closed and how there is no activity within it's walls. I'm talking about how every single desk is cleared, how every paper has been destroyed, how the only things left in the rooms are the furniture and the wires that used to connect with the computers. I'm talking about how suddenly, they were able to scatter without a trace, without any warning that we could detect, without any apparent motive, without the aid of any moving trucks or other large vehicles of any kind. How every single person is gone whether they knew the truth about the organization or not." He stopped then and looked at her with a gaze that she understood now. The green of his eyes intermingled with fear and concern for her and she couldn't help but close her eyes in surrender as the information swept over her.

He lifted a hand and placed it under her cheek, kissing her forehead and then saying softly, "But most of all, I'm talking about how everybody from Marshall to Dixon to Sloane itself is gone, disappeared from the face of the earth... yet you and Jack are still here."

She opened her eyes, raised her head from his warm hand, a steely reserve coming up behind the moist eyes. "We've been made."

He nodded.

"I'm going to go to the safehouse."

"I'll be behind you."

"It still doesn't make any sense."

"I know."

"I don't know where to start."

"We'll work it out together."

"All right then."

**tbc**...****

**more****? **


	4. Karma

**insert really cool title that I can't think of**

**4. Karma **

She went to sleep on the hard mattress, lulled to sleep by the thought of Vaughn's coming to her and the dull throbbing of his voice as he was debriefed in the next room. 

The sleep was dark, gloomy, and dreamless and she was conscious of all the feeling sifting through her and knew that more desperately than anything else, she longed only to wake up and lose this feeling of swimming through the air with no control over her movements. 

However, it was when her wish was granted and she awoke looking into the deep chocolate-brown eyes she thought she would never see in this situation, she couldn't help but feel that perhaps she hadn't escaped her dream at all. 

"Karma."

The woman answered with a slight nod and a slightly manufactured smile that did nothing to reassure Sydney's fractured nerves. Instantly, instinctively, her muscles tensed beneath her skin as she prepared herself to fight if need be. But what was she doing here in the CIA safehouse?

"What the hell are you doing here, Karma?"

The woman didn't look surprised and instead took the harsh tone of voice with which she was received in stride before answering. "What do you think I'm doing here? I'm informing you about the situation because your handler has been... otherwise detained."

Fear rushed through her system. "What are you talking about? Where's Vaughn? How did you get into a sanctioned CIA safehouse?" She felt stupid as the endless questions erupted from her mouth but she could not stop the words, could not stop the rushing feelings from leaving her system, could not shake the feeling that the entire world had turned upside down and had forgotten to take her with it. 

The woman laughed. "I suppose that you and Mr. Vaughn must spend much time defending your status as mere handler and agent." She sat down on the bed next to Sydney and raised her eyebrows at the way that Sydney tensed even more at the movement. "I'm not going to hurt you Sydney. You don't know anything about me."

Her head twisted around sharply, looking at the other woman. "What are you talking about Karma Manuel? We have worked side by side in SD-6 for the past 4 years! I know how you even like your goddamn coffee." With those words Sydney stood, untrusting of these person's appearance in her cell. When she spoke again her words were clipped. "You were a highly prized agent because you had managed to gain entry into the CIA and you were, I suspected, a double agent for SD-6 which would explain the complete disaster of the 63rd, 65th, and 70th missions in Russia during '97. Don't toy with me, I know what you're capable of but I also do not underestimate my own abilities. Therefore, you_ will tell me what's going on."_

The woman's beautiful face lifted and the serene look was still intact. "Very good Agent Bristow. You have extremely well developed analytical skills and those in addition to your naturally high deduction ability makes you a formidable foe indeed." She stopped, hesitated as if choosing her next words. "But I'm not your foe."

"The hell you're not. How did you get in here, where is Vaughn and what the hell is Sloane planning to do?"

"I'm not, I was admitted, I don't know."

"I don't believe you."

"Sydney, you have guessed correctly in all of your assumptions except for one."

"And what would that be?"

"I'm not a double agent. I'm a_ triple_ agent. For the CIA."

**tbc****...**

**more****? **


	5. Triple

**5.**

**Triple**

"You're...a triple agent."

"Yes."

"For the CIA."

"Yes."

"And you're in my cell because..."

"Because I have very pertinent information to share with the CIA and, more specifically, with you."

Sydney stopped, processing all the information that came to her now. "Wait. SD-6 is _gone. Everyone affiliated with SD-6 has also disappeared whether they knew the truth behind SD-6 or not. Why are you still here?"_

Karma sighed a little then, almost imperceptibly. "It was time to pull out. And it was time that they _found out too. However, despite this, I do know the outcome of the organization and I do have the intention of sharing it with you."_

Sydney nodded, understanding all the implications that came with it. Looking down and then hesitantly back up, she voiced her next question. "And Vaughn?"

"I didn't lie about Vaughn. He _has been otherwise detained. However, it is not a hostage situation or anything of the like which you have undoubtably thought of. He is merely getting more information and looking through, presumably, my file. He will join us later." Karma paused for a second time, a mischevious glint in her eye, the same as the one reflected in her tugging grin. "By the way, you don't have to lie to me because I don't care what happens along the way as long as the outcome remains unchanged."_

Sydney's eyebrow lifted. "Meaning what exactly?"

"Meaning that I specifically asked for a room without surveillance for other reasons but I wouldn't mind if you ended up using that fact towards your own advantage."

Face flushing, Sydney nodded quickly and looked back towards the stone floor. She wasn't yet sure how to take that information. 

But she understood by the time Vaughn walked in through the door, a haggard look in his eyes that told of the sleepless night he had had. He nodded curtly towards Karma and was about to do the same to Sydney when she went to him and hugged him instead.

Eyebrows rushing upwards in momentary surprise and uncertainty, with a hesitant glance at Karma's unsurprised face, he hugged her back, his voice soft in her ears. "How are you?"

Her eyelids fluttered closed, finally at peace now that he was here. "Fine. Good. Surprised..."She trailed off, pulling her head back and looking at him, memorizing the features of his face. She flashed a sudden, brilliant grin. "Especially now that you're here."

He smiled back, willing to throw away the rules for this moment in her presence. Sydney pulled away, eyes taking in his tired eyes with loving concern, covering them with her lips, healing them in the only way she knew how. It had been only yesterday morning that she had woken up in his arms, flush with love and full with emotion that had resulted in a smile that refused to be wiped off her face. 

His hands found hers, bringing them together as he pulled away, confused at what was happening, why this was happening, unsure of how to proceed. "Syd, what are you doing?" He was painfully aware of the other woman's presence a mere four feet away.

Her brown eyes locked onto his and in that moment, he didn't care what was going on, didn't care what her reasons were behind her actions. He'd throw it all away for her. Only for her. 

"You look so tired." Her fingertips danced lightly on the skin of his eyelids, so feathery was her touch that he had to make sure that he was indeed being touched by this angel, this perfect woman that he had, for some reason, been allowed to have. He was speechless as she placed her head in the crook of his neck, elated and wonderous as he always was at how perfectly it fit there in that space. As if he had been made specifically to fit her. 

Far away he could hear Agent Manuel's voice, hearing a little smirk in her tone as she called out "I'll tell them that you need a half hour to confer."

Before he could question her words, Sydney's own voice came to him, her words cascading over him like a warm breeze. "She asked specifically for a room with no surveillance." She managed to get the sentence out before covering his neck with tiny kisses that she planted ever so lovingly onto him, a symbol of how much he meant to her. And then his arms came up from his sides, his hands gliding up the curves and slopes of her hips and torso, settling themselves around her back and pulling her closer to him so that he could be sure of her warmth and her existence even as it was pressed up against him. 

He felt his eyes closing, relief flooding him like a sedative, relaxing into the arms of the woman he loved with all of his heart. 

Then she pulled away, her sudden absence leaving him lonelier than he had ever felt before. "I thought I lost you yesterday, Vaughn."

"What? What do you mean?" His words were soft, belying an undercurrent of shock and urgency. He cupped her cheek with his hand, meeting her eyes with his. "Why did you think that, Sydney?"

Her eyes watered slightly. "Because life was perfect when we went to sleep - if you could call it that - and it was perfect when we woke up. And then you weren't there anymore. You claimed your actions were for my safety, that your precautions were made with my health in mind and I do believe that they were. But at that moment, you became my handler again. Just my handler. And it scared me more than anything in the world." Her hand found his and entertwined her fingers with his.

He kissed her lightly on the forehead. "I'm sorry. I'll stay with you from now on. And I mean that literally."

Her eyebrow raised, questionning. "What are you talking about?"

His eyes took on a glint that she didn't understand. "You'll find out soon enough."

"Tell me."

He raised his eyebrow. "And waste our remaining 26 minutes in an unserveillanced room? Are you out of your mind?" And then he bent to kiss her. 

**tbc****...**

**more**?


	6. United

**6**

**United **

The moment his lips touched hers, she felt a warm sizzle run through her body and she knew then that the morning, the whole experience... that had been just that. An experience. And nothing more. 

~:~

24.5 minutes later, the two entered the conference room, looking a little rumpled for the wear but not entirely outlandish looking. The slight wrinkle of their attire could just have easily been gotten by kneeling against the walls of the room, heads on knees, discussing the situation. 

And so they weren't considered for long as they took their seats and then all eyes were on Karma. 

She took the obligatory deep breath before speaking.

"I have been a triple agent for the CIA for about 4 and a half years now. Now that the entire corporation of SD-6 is missing regardless of who the employee was and what they knew, drastic action must be taken because only in one situation could something so large take place. 

"For SD-6 to scatter when it is now in the highest position of power within its net groups is very unlikely. They would only take that chance and that risk if something popped up that was worth it all. 

"Something like a place within the Apollyon Soul Harvest."

Sydney's brow furrowed and her eyes clashed with Vaughn's as a single thought ran through them. _Apollyon__ Soul Harvest???_

"Excuse me... but we have no such coorporation on our maps or in any of our listings. What sort of coorporation is this and why would SD-6 flock to it?"

Karma looked at the speaker, allowing him to feel the full effect of her steely, utter professional gaze land on his. Visibly unsure of whether or not it would be appropriate to gulp, the man sat still and stared into the almost metallic eyes of Karma. And waited. 

"The Apollyon Soul Harvest is interested in one thing, has one goal. One purpose to which it lives, breathes, and dies for. Would anyone like to venture a guess as to that is?"

From her peripheral vision, Sydney saw Vaughn's eyes flutter slightly closed. "Rambaldi." The word was whispered, was achingly soft and full of wonder and hate mixed into some sort of lethal mixture. He opened his eyes and stood up, elliciting surprise everyone. "As we all know, Rambaldi was, in part, a sort of alternate Leonardo DaVinci. Dabbling in all sorts of subjects from life to technology, to ultimate truths of such quantity and knowledge that we can not even begin to understand... he sketched out the Apollyon Soul Harvest."

"Agent Vaughn, what are you talking about?"

"We have all heard about ash in his writings. And not known what to make of it. And that is because we never once thought about it's anagram. ASH. Apollyon Soul Harvest. I feel confident that should we insert what we know now, or rather what we will know from Agent Manuel's presententation, we will be infinitely more the wiser."

They found out that ASH was congregating in an undisclosed location in Europe. And had more knowledge of Rambaldi that anyone else on the planet. More of the writings than the CIA had even known existed. 

More than they ever wanted to know existed. 

And that was because ASH, a coorporation that Sloane had envied and wondered over for years, had one component crucial to their success and their information. 

And her name was Laila Rambaldi.

**tbc****...**

**more****?**

***** THIS IS THE END OF PART ONE… PART TWO WILL BE UP SOON!******

**please**** r/r**

**thank**** you all so much! You don't know how much it means to me to know that people actually read my stuff.**


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